The Brooklyn Nets made their way to the Bay Area on Saturday night for a primetime matchup with the Golden State Warriors in what was billed as the return of Kevin Durant. He came through in style, with 20 points, five rebounds and six assists to help the Nets take an easy win, 134-117.
There wasn’t really much drama in this one as the Nets took the lead late in the first quarter and never lagged behind. They led double digits for the entire second half, and at one point were up a whopping 28 before running the rest of the way.
Durant’s strong night was rivaled by his star teammates. Kyrie Irving went for 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, while James Harden drove point and finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and 16 assists. As usual, the Nets were dominant at the attacking end, shooting 53.8 percent of the field and knocking down 16 three-pointers.
On the Warriors side, Stephen Curry went for 27 points and five assists in another strong game, but they just didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with the Nets. And really, the fact that statistically they had just as much offensive success as they did was because Brooklyn was on autopilot in the fourth quarter.
Here are some key takeaways from The Nets’ impressive win:
Harden the facilitator
James Harden scores so much that passing will never be the first thing anyone mentions when discussed, but he’s really great in that department. And ever since he arrived in Brooklyn, he has done everything he can to facilitate and involve others.
Heading into Saturday night, he averaged 11.3 assists per game with the Nets, which would be a record high if he kept that pace all season long. He increased that average against the Warriors by dropping 16 assists – his most in a Nets uniform so far.
It wasn’t just superficial swing passes to an open shooter, either. He earned his songs with some truly beautiful finds. This behind Bruce Brown’s back was particularly smooth.
Irving is putting on a show
Quantifying something like “tough shot maker” is difficult because it’s largely based on aesthetics and personal preference, but even all that subjectivity can’t deny Kyrie Irving his rightful place among the best of the competition. In all fairness, it sometimes seems like he deliberately takes pictures more difficult than necessary.
Even for him, Saturday night was special. Zigzagging drives to the basket, reverse lay-ups get flipped off the glass, step back 3s, Irving had it all in this one. He showed all the skills that have made him one of the best scorers of his generation. Like, what should you actually do about this?
Or this?
Durant returns to the bay
The biggest and most obvious story in the game was Durant making his return to the Bay Area. With his injury and the pandemic, it had been two years since he had played a game at Golden State. That absence ended Saturday night, but unfortunately the fan-less environment made it a lot less memorable than it should have been.
Still, the Warriors did their best to make things as special as possible and played a tribute video for Durant during the first quarter. The front office was on hand to give Durant a standing ovation and acknowledge everything he helped them achieve. Even if it ended quite depressingly with a torn defeat to Achilles and Finals, it was still an incredible three-year run for Durant and the Warriors.
Durant, on the other hand, did not return the hospitality. He dropped 20 points, five rebounds, and six assists to help the Nets take a dominant win.
Warriors just aren’t good enough
Ever since Klay Thompson went down with a torn Achilles, the big question among the Warriors has been whether Steph Curry would have enough help to stay competitive. Draymond Green is still there as a defender and playmaker, but he barely shoots a few games these days and was never really a scoring threat.
So even if Curry gets you 30 a night, you still need a bunch of other players to perform. And to their credit, they have it on some nights and against some teams. But they just weren’t good enough against the Nets. For the first three quarters, Warriors not named Curry were off the field 21 out of 52, and Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. were the only others in double digits.
That’s not necessarily terrible, but it’s also just not good enough to beat a top team like the Nets.